visit us on

find your edible

Pickled Tea Leaf Salad (Laphet Thoke)

Laphet Thoke, or Pickled Tea Leaf Salad, is served in Myanmar (Burma) for any and all occasions: parties, weddings, funerals and all religious ceremonies. We eat this dish as a snack, as part of a bigger meal with rice or as dessert. A caffeinated dish, it is also commonly prepared for students during their exams to keep them awake at night.

Photography By Danielle Tsi |October 26, 2017

Ingredients

¼ cup
fermented tea leaf*

¼ cup
fried peanuts, broad beans and sesame*

½ cup
very thinly sliced red cabbage

½ cup
very thinly sliced green cabbage

2
large plum tomatoes, julienned

3
cloves garlic, peeled and minced

3 tablespoons
lime juice, freshly squeezed

1 tablespoon
sesame oil

1 teaspoon
sea salt

1
Bird’s Eye chili, minced

1 tablespoon
dry shrimp powder (omit for vegetarian/vegan)

2 teaspoons
fish sauce (omit for vegetarian/vegan)

Garnishes:

Green chilies, thinly sliced

Dry red chili flakes

Fish sauce

Shrimp powder

Lime wedges

About this recipe

Recipe by April Chou, as featured at the Tapestry Supper Burmese Luncheon for Catholic Charities of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Recipe supplied to Edible Silicon Valley as part of the Fall+Holiday 2017 Tapestry Suppers article.

In Myanmar (Burma), making salads according to your own taste is paramount. The garnishes of green chilies, dry chili flakes, fish sauce, shrimp powder and lime wedges are tools to adjust heat, umami, salty and sour tastes to your liking.

*Pickled Tea Leaf is available at local specialty stores like Yoma, Myanmar Pyi Thar Grocery in Newark and Good Eggs.